


flicker

by abbyli



Series: and all is well [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, F/M, Family, Longing, Slight fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-20
Updated: 2017-10-20
Packaged: 2019-01-20 02:57:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12423672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abbyli/pseuds/abbyli
Summary: “I didn’t mean for him to come here, if he had just asked me then this could have different and not so sudden and –“ She’s suddenly cut off by Frank’s mouth pressing to hers. She doesn’t flinch away or try to push him off, the tears that had been burning in her eyes ever since she got here making their way down her face at last. Frank gently brushes them away, letting her breathe a moment later. “I’m so sorry.”(A seventeen year old Finn tracks his father to Chicago with Karen not too far behind, which makes for a awkward family reunion.)





	flicker

.

.

His apartment door is slightly ajar.

Frank reaches for the gun tucked behind his jacket, pulling it out slowly and clicking the safety off. Boris isn’t barking. His stomach turns at the thought of _why_ his pitbull isn’t making any noise.

He nudges the door open further with his toe, the gun out in front of him. The television is playing. He had left it on before he had gone out for the noise to keep Boris company. A mid afternoon talk show host is prattling away on the screen. A shadow crosses in front of the screen, tall and obviously male. He lifts the gun and prepares to fire.

_“Wait! Wait, Frank, stop!”_

The gun lowers and he stares. A boy tumbles out from nowhere, Boris at his hip with his whole furry body waggling away in delight. Blond hair falls into the boy’s face and god, his eyes. His own eyes stare back at him, pleading and a little hopeful.

“Finn?”

His son sighs in relief, hands lowering. One falls down to the top of Boris’s head, scratching behind his ears. The dog licks his wrist – _traitor -_ and barks once, almost as a warning to Frank.

He quickly puts the gun back into his belt and shuts the door, turning back to the teenager that he hadn’t seen in – god what was it? Twelve years? Maybe more? He didn’t know.

 “Finn – what are you doing here?”

God he looks like his mother. There’s a bit of him in there too though. Frank can see that.

Sudden fear clenches his chest. Karen. Was she --?

Finn easily reads the look on his face, quickly waving a hand. “Mom’s fine. She’s fine. I, uh –“

Frank breathes out a sigh of relief, but still waits. His eyes rake over Finn’s face, almost hungrily taking him in.

He’s beautiful. He’s whole. He’s alive.

He grew up.

“I wanted to see you,” the boy admits, voice almost ashamed. “I’m sorry.”

Frank sighs, shaking his head. “You shouldn’t be here, kid. How did you even find me?”

“Hello, I’m Karen Page’s son,” Finn says with a smirk. Frank almost laughs. Silly question to ask.

“Does your mother know you’re here?”

“Uh –“

“ _Finn,”_ Frank’s tone drops warningly and Finn flushes red. Yeah, Junior used to do that when he’d steal Maria’s private stash of chocolate chip cookies.  

Finn shakes his head. “She wouldn’t have let me come. I couldn’t – I mean –“

Frank growls under his breath. He pulls his phone from his other pocket and tosses it to the teenager. “Call her.”

“But –“

“Call her right now or I will take you home like you’re five.”

Finn sighs. “ _Fine.”_ He tosses Frank’s phone back and pulls out his own. Frank rolls his eyes, shaking his head in an almost wonder.

This is his kid.

He never thought he’d have this again.

And truthfully, he really didn’t.

-;

The silence is broken only by Boris’s panting.

Frank is not sure what to say. His son is here. His _son._

After that day in the park, he had moved less than two weeks later. He couldn’t allow himself to stay in the same vicinity as Karen and Finn. He knew if he did, then he’d remain there forever and the danger always lurked nearby. He couldn’t taint this innocent child with that.

And as he watches Finn pet Boris’s ears, he knows he made the right decision.

“How is your mother?”

Finn looks up. “She’s editor of the New York Bulletin now.”

Pride swells in Frank’s chest. “That’s fucking wonderful.” He knew she could do it.

Finn laughs. “She works a lot but she loves it. Since I turned sixteen she’s been giving me more freedom that I am sure she’s going to take away after this little stunt but I don’t really care.”

And there it is.

Frank shifts forward in his seat across from the sofa, elbows resting on his knees. “She married?”

Finn shakes his head and Frank’s stomach swoops. “She dates from time to time but has never shown any interest in getting married. Says she doesn’t have the time for a husband and I kind of believe her.”

Frank isn’t sure why but he had expected for Finn to tell him that Karen had married Red. He had pushed her back towards Murdock, had hoped she would find a peace with him but now, for some reason, he is relieved she didn’t.

The tension is honestly so thick, it could be cut with a knife. Frank looks to the boy and wonders what he can say that isn’t about Karen. How much does he know? Does he know anything at all? What did his mother tell him? A thousand more questions run through his brain, only to be broken by Finn’s timid voice.

“I found my mom’s articles on you.”

_Oh._

Frank regretfully brings his eyes up to meet Finn’s again. The teenager doesn’t look at him with the fear that he expects to see. Only curiosity and maybe some hope.

He cannot give that to the boy, as much as he wants too.

“She told me your name last year,” Finn admits. “After I found everything I confronted her with it and she told me that it was for my own safety, me remaining in the dark.”

“She was right,” Frank says.

Finn sighs. “I know.” He gently traces his fingers behind Boris’s ears. The dog whines happily, shifting a bit to wind up on his back, baring his neck to Finn to scratch. “It doesn’t scare me, you know? About what you did.”

Frank blinks, cocking his head to the side. He believes Finn in that moment. He is not sure why but –

“I found the reports on what led to all of it. About your wife and my – uh – brother and sister.” Finn peers at him, almost ashamed. “I get it.”

Frank sighs too. “That isn’t something to ‘get’, Finn.”

“That’s not what I mean,” he interrupts. “Forgive me for saying this but… I think anyone would do what you did to get revenge for their family.”

Frank shakes his head. “I hope not.” He looks to the clock on the wall. Nearly five. Finn had told him after getting off the phone that Karen was catching the first flight out of New York to Chicago. She’d be here before nightfall.

Silence falls once again. Boris grunts, nudging Finn’s hand with his nose and he replaces it on the pitbull’s white stomach, nails lightly digging in. Boris groans happily, drool trickling out of the corner of his mouth and onto Finn’s pant leg but he doesn’t seem to mind.

“You still like dogs, huh?”

Finn chuckles. “Very much. I have a golden retriever at home. He’s about…eight now? Mom and I had a deal that once I proved I was responsible enough I could have a dog.” He suddenly launches into a story about the night that Karen brought the dog home. “She said an older dog would be best and she was right.”

“Listen to me, kid. Your mother is _always_ right. File that away and just don’t fight it,” Frank says and Finn laughs.

“She had me take him to obedience training and I run him every day. Well except today of course.” He digs into his pocket and pulls out his phone, swiping his finger across the screen. Frank leans forward to take it when offered and his heart nearly stops when he sees Karen’s smiling face. She has the dog wrapped in her arms and they are both grinning away in the photo.

She hasn’t changed. Not one single bit.

“I’m glad she’s happy.”

Finn nods in understanding, replacing the phone in his pocket. “She is. I mean, she’s tired a lot and it feels like sometimes, something is _missing_ but other than that…” His voice trails off and Frank can hear a hint of tiredness. True to his thought, the boy yawns and stretches his arms out over his head.

“Are you allowed to drink coffee?”

Startled, Finn dips his chin. “Yeah?”

Frank gets to his feet and walks into the kitchen. He hears Boris jump off the couch and quickly follow. He tosses a milkbone off of the box on the table to the dog and turns on the coffee maker.

“Cream or sugar?”

Finn leans against the doorframe, arms folded. “Cream.”

This is so frightening for him. Frank had stared death in the face so many times but now, having his seventeen year old son standing just a few feet away from him was more terrifying then trying to clean up Hell’s Kitchen of the assholes.

“When did you get Boris?”

“A few months after Max passed,” Frank passes him a mug of black liquid, gesturing to the fridge for the milk. “He’s going on…five I think?” He looks to Boris again and the dog seems happier than ever. “Assholes at the pound kept telling me that I didn’t want him, that he was aggressive and some shit like that.”

“Him?” Finn chuckles, pointing to the pitbull. “Aggressive?”

“He fucking ran right over and jumped on my chest and tried to lick my face. Extremely aggressive,” Frank says with a snort, smiling when Finn joins him in the laughter.

This does feel nice.

The tension in the attempted conversation finally eases, and they talk about everything. Well Finn does most of the talking and Frank does most of the listening. He learns that Finn is graduating a year early from high school and is starting at an art college the following autumn to major in journalism. He has a B average in school and plays softball and runs every day with his dog.

He’s good. He’s happy.

And that makes Frank happy.

-;

A soft knock comes at the door at eight.

Darkness has fallen outside and the city is starting to light up. There is still a chill in the air despite the season heading into early summer and Finn had pulled the blanket draped over the top of the couch around his shoulders. Frank adjusts the cuffs of his sweater and gets up from the kitchen table to the door. He peeks through the peephole and his heart nearly stammers to a stop.

“Hi Karen.”

The blonde smiles back at him. “Hi Frank. I could insert a cheesy line of how long it’s been but I’m not too keen on that.”

Frank snorts. “Thanks. Come on in.”

Karen steps over the threshold, her expression hardening when she sees her son. “ _Finn Morgan Page.”_

Frank could laugh at the look of absolute terror that crosses Finn’s face. “Mom, I –“

“I am not going to yell. Not here, later. But expect it, understand?”

Finn nods. “Uh – I’ll get my jacket.”

A sudden crack of thunder makes all three of them jump. Boris starts barking and leaps from the couch to run into Frank’s bedroom. There’s a sharp dinging sound and Karen yanks out her phone. “Shit, that was the airport. Our flight is delayed four hours due to an incoming storm.”

Finn walks over to the only window in the room, peeking out. Rain’s starting to spatter against the glass. A second crack of thunder makes him jump back and away from the window, walking back over to his mother.

Karen looks at Frank and he shrugs a shoulder. “All I have in my fridge is leftover pizza from last night.”

Finn chuckles, wrapping an arm around Karen’s waist. Karen pokes his stomach with her hand, managing a small smile for Frank. “Thank you.”

-;

The flight gets delayed again until the following morning.

Karen hisses when she hangs up the phone, slamming it down onto the table with more force than she intended. “Damn it!”

Finn glances up from the couch, the blanket wrapped back around him once again. He had tried to coax Boris out from underneath the bed to no avail. “What’s up?”

“The lady at the airport said she wasn’t sure when the flight was going to be rescheduled. Apparently there’s heavy rain all over Chicago and no one’s getting in or out.”

“Not surprised, it’s a monsoon out there,” Frank says. “You two can stay the night if you want.”

“We don’t have too intrude. A hotel is fine.”

“But Mom, we’re here already,” Finn adds. “What’s the point of going to a hotel if we’re just going to be there for a few hours anyway?”

“You have a point.” She cuts her eyes back to Frank. “You don’t mind?”

He shakes his head. “Not at all. You can take the bed and Finn can have the couch.”

“You’re not sleeping on the floor!” Those six words suddenly send Frank back twenty years. He meets Karen’s eyes and she blushes. “S-sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

They fall into a comfortable silence again, the only noise in the apartment coming from the television as Finn flips through the channels.

“He’s amazing.”

Karen nods in soft agreement. “He is.”

“A dog named _Mikey?”_

Karen chuckles. “He was twelve! Who am I to judge?”

“He said he knows. He knows everything about the life that I live.”

He can see Karen worry her bottom lip with her teeth, fingers twitching into a fist. “I figured he did. He wouldn’t have come all this way – I mean, to find out your father’s the _Punisher_ …” she adds with a whisper. “Finn’s good. He’s good and kind and compassionate and he wouldn’t give a shit about that.”

“I know.” Frank tilts his head to the side. “He’s like his mom.”

-;

“What were my siblings’ names?”  

Frank flinches at the innocent question, looking over at Finn. The boy seems like he immediately regrets asking and he opens his mouth to shut the question down but Lisa’s smiling face suddenly swims into his mind’s eye. “Frank Junior and…Lisa.”

Finn shifts on the sofa, pulling the blanket tighter around his shoulders. “Can you…tell me about them?”

He only spoke of his children a handful of times since their deaths. He talked about the bad to Red. Coming home and then losing his home. And then the good to Karen. The softness. The sweetness. It was all he could talk about to her. And that was all she wanted to hear.

_Concentrate on the good._

Easier said than done.

He eyes Finn for a second, hesitating. Karen’s standing in the doorway, framed by the soft light from the kitchen. “Lisa was older. She loved dance. Any kind of dance. She would be constantly pirouetting through the house and her mother would yell at her because at least one vase would end up a victim.”

Finn laughs softly, his smile suddenly reminiscent of his big sister.

“Junior had this thing for chocolate chip cookies. His mom loved them too so whenever she would buy a package she’d have to hide them on the top shelf in the kitchen so he couldn’t get to them but somehow he always did.”

“Sound familiar, Finn?” Karen says.

Finn chuckles, the tips of his ears turning red. “Mine’s Oreos. Mom can never keep them in the house.” Karen clears her throat loudly. “And brownies,” he admits. “I accidentally got into Mom’s stash of ‘special’ brownies,” he says, flicking his fingers. “And I was high for two days.”

Frank bursts into laughter, looking at Karen. “You had pot?”

“Hey! It was given to me from a friend and oh screw it, _yeah_ I did.”

Finn snorts, not withering under the glare that his mother shoots him, one that would have left Frank quaking in his boots once upon a time.

The conversation carries on and Frank notices something startling as Finn asks him more questions.

He’s okay with this. He’s okay with talking about his lost children to Finn. The pain’s still there but then again...it’s not? It feels like something that had been put away on a shelf. An item that would always be there, something he could not bear to throw away. And that’s all right.

He can live with that.

-;

The rain clears just as the dark sky begins to break.

Karen wakes Finn, having to gently pull Boris off of the boy’s sleeping form. “Sweetie, it’s almost time to go.”

Finn lets out a soft whine, much like the boy that Frank last saw in the park a lifetime ago.

“Okay _...”_

He rises slowly, pushing himself off the couch to shuffle towards the bathroom. Karen turns back to Frank, hitching on a smile to cover the grief that is trying to fight its way out. “Thank you for all of this and – uh – _sorry.”_

Frank looks at her, the same emotions she is feeling mirrored back in his face. “You have nothing to be sorry about.”

“I didn’t mean for him to come here, if he had just asked me then this could have different and not so sudden and –“ She’s suddenly cut off by Frank’s mouth pressing to hers. She doesn’t flinch away or try to push him off, the tears that had been burning in her eyes ever since she got here making their way down her face at last. Frank gently brushes them away, letting her breathe a moment later. “I’m so _sorry.”_

“You’ve done nothing wrong,” he whispers to her, eyes darting to the closed bathroom door. “Don’t ever be sorry for keeping our boy safe.”

_Our boy._

Karen blinks away the new tears that are forming. She kisses Frank back, gently pecking at his mouth before burying her face in his shoulder. He wraps his arms around her, large hand gently resting on the back of her head.

She wants to stay. She wants to stay right here and be the family that they should be.

But she knows that can never be. These moments – these moments are the ones to hold onto.

The bathroom door opens and they spring apart like they had been caught doing something wrong. Finn looks back and forth between the two of them, and she wonders if he saw anything but decides that if he did, that it is okay.

“You ready to go?”

Finn nods, his gaze flickering to his father. Karen moves back and walks into the connecting kitchen as the two men almost size each other up. Frank extends his hand and Finn takes it, then doing something that surprises them all.

He hugs his father.

Frank’s arms hang at his sides for a second, his gaze alarmed and almost fearful. Karen nods smally, and he lifts his hands up to gently pat Finn’s back. “Thank you, Frank.” Finn pulls away rather abruptly. He quickly turns to cover Boris’s head and back with pats, the dog pushing at his knee with his head.

A few minutes later, they’re leaving the apartment. The sun is rising in the sky, covering the city with a shine of light that feels so pure for the first time.

Frank watches them from the window as they come from the front of the apartment building and Karen holds up her hand to hail a cab. Boris whines again, his voice a low cry and Frank feels like joining him. He pats the dog’s ears, teeth sinking into his bottom lip as he forces himself to turn away from the window and away from his family as they disappear from his life once again.

.

.

**Author's Note:**

> I know it’s kind of a depressing ending. Part three is going to have two endings, the second will be posted as an outtake. Anyway I hope you all enjoyed and please review!


End file.
